Pillar
by BeginAgain46
Summary: He was her pillar, and the fact that he had easily become the most reliable fixture in her life astounded her. EC


**Pillar** by **saulalovin**  
A **CSI: Miami** fan fiction

**Pairing:** Eric Delko and Calleigh Duquesne  
**Summary:** He was her pillar, and the fact that he had easily become the most reliable fixture in her life astounded her.  
**Spoilers:** None. Just some original fluff.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything related to CSI, unfortunately. Just my overactive imagination that I'm planning to insure for a million dollars. Heh.  
**Author's Note:** This is my first EC fic. I couldn't resist. They're just so gorgeous and beg to be written about. Oh, please read and review! I would totally appreciate it.

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Her toes squished into the warm sand, and she laughed in delight, a musical sound escaping her lips. The sea breeze rifled through her hair, sending the straw-colored locks behind her back.

The sound of her laughter from shore carried over to the water, where Eric Delko had been standing, feeling the water wash up over his feet. He looked up and smiled at the sight of Calleigh Duquesne seated on the sand, clearly enjoying herself. She felt his eyes on her, and she looked up and waved at him, beaming.

He grinned back and made his way to her. He plopped down on the sand, cross-legged and pulled her into his lap. She leaned into him and shivered at his warmth, tingles running up her spine. A familiar flutter had started up again in her stomach, and like many times before, she marveled at the effect he had on her.

She had never thought that she would fall head-over-heels in love with _him_, of all people. He wasn't her type at all. There was no denying that he was _extremely _good-looking and that she _just might have been_ the slightest bit attracted to him, but she _was_ who she was – Calleigh Duquesne, who had always put up walls between men and herself.

What had been so different about him? It was as though he knew something about the two of them that she didn't – that they could make this _work_. He had settled for flirtatious banter at first, slowly gaining her friendship and respect. He did his best not to appear too pushy, taking his time with her.

She knew that, at times, the pace at how things were going frustrated him. But he kept at it and stuck around, and before she knew it, he had become one of the most – if not _the_ most – reliable fixture in her life.

"_What's in it for you?"_ she had asked him one night in the locker room, after he had asked her if she wanted to grab a bite to eat. Her tone made him realize that she wasn't in fact referring to his invitation to go eat, but why he continued to vie for her affections. He had given her a sweet, lopsided look – _"You."_

And with that she decided to let him in. Just a little, at first – opening up more, sharing some of her problems with him… She was well aware that there were occasions when she would pull away, but those moments didn't faze him. He had given her the space she needed, _always_ patient, _always_ understanding.

He became the person she would first think of whenever she was faced with a problem. She started to come to work a little earlier so she could see him. She allowed him to take her out on dates, and was always pleasantly surprised to find herself having a great time.

After dinner one night she had stunned both of them when, in the middle of his sentence, she pressed her lips on his and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. It was also the first time she had admitted to herself that she was, indeed, falling in love.

He had become her pillar, the one she leaned on for strength and depended on for stability. She trusted him explicitly – he was the one who accepted her for who she was, and someone with whom she didn't have to put up a façade.

She was so lucky to have him. Sometimes the depth of his love for her frightened her, but then she would remember that she felt the exact same way about him.

She felt him lovingly trail several light kisses up her neck and along her jaw, and she sat up, meeting his lips with her own.

"Thank you," she murmured, caressing his arm with her fingers.

"What for?" he asked, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

She craned her neck to look up at him. "Loving me," she replied simply.

"It isn't hard," he told her, squeezing her gently.

"Yes, it is," she said, laughing.

He shrugged, smiling. "Okay, maybe it is, sometimes. But other than that…" His voice trailed off, and he held her more tightly to him.

She let out a content sigh and snuggled into him. He smiled down at her and laid a kiss on her forehead. It hadn't been easy for either of them to get to this point. He remembered not knowing why she seemed to have such an inexplicable hold on him, why he kept trying to get her to let him in. Now, he knew why – it was love, plain and simple.

"I couldn't have been easy to love, either," he said aloud, recalling the times her green eyes had flashed, letting him know he had gone too far.

She laughed again. He loved to hear her laugh. "Oh, it's harder than it is to love me, of course."

"Is that so?" he asked, raising his eyebrow and tickling her slightly. He knew exactly which spot made her nuts.

"Eric, stop it!" she managed to get out in between giggles.

He did so, grinning, and their lips met again.

"I love you, Calleigh," he said in a low voice, unable to stop himself from saying the words.

She smiled up at him, and pressed a hand to his cheek lovingly.

"I love you too, Eric."

**THE END**


End file.
